Box Score
KENT, Ohio — Rodriquez Sherman scored 16 points to lead five Kent State players in double figures, and the Golden Flashes overcame a quick Norfolk State start to send the Spartans to their school-record-tying 10th straight loss, 84-66, on Monday night at the Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center.
Christian Morris (Bronx, N.Y.) scored a career-high 19 points and Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) added 16 for the Spartans (1-11), who lost their 10th in a row to match last year's club for the longest skid in program history.
The Spartans hit six of their first eight field goals and led 15-4 five minutes into their first-ever meeting with Kent State. But KSU (9-5) responded with a 16-4 lead of its own, and the Spartans struggled for much of the night against a strong Golden Flashes' defense.
NSU suffered from a five-minute field goal drought late in the first half, and KSU took advantage with a 13-4 spurt to close the half and claim a 39-31 halftime lead. The Golden Flashes carried that momentum into the second half, scoring the first eight points, four by Justin Greene, to open up a 47-31 edge. The Spartans missed their first six shots of the second half Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) hit a layup more than two and a half minutes in.
KSU finished off the win by shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half while holding the Spartans to 35 percent (13-of-37).
Greene and Tyree Evans had 14 points apiece for KSU, which outscored NSU 27-3 from 3-point range. Randal Holt added 12 points and Anthony Simpson had 11. Greene finished with a double-double, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.
Morris had eight rebounds to pace the Spartans. Hampton had 10 points and a career-high six assists. Forward Marcos Tamares (Queens, N.Y.) had career highs of seven points and six rebounds off the bench. Guard Aleek Pauline (Jamaica, N.Y.), returning to the lineup after missing six games due to a broken bone in his hand, added six rebounds.
The Spartans play their final 17 games of the year against MEAC opposition, beginning this Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla.
